Montreal Gazette
Review by T'cha Dunlevy
Dave Matthews speaks softly, with thoughtful pauses. There is an arresting honesty to his voice. He doesn't give interviews often, I am told later by the label rep; perhaps, as a result, he comes across as genuinely engaged in our conversation.
I tracked down the South African-born American rocker in Boston on a tour stop last week, and spoke to him by phone. The first topic was the untimely death of saxophonist LeRoi Moore, in an ATV accident last summer.
Moore's solos open and close the Dave Matthews Band's just-released seventh album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, the title of which is dedicated to his memory. "I'm glad you said 'Groogroo,' " the singer said, approving of my pronunciation while explaining that he and his entourage pronounce the "x."
"Grux was a nickname of Roi's. We liked putting it together like that. We thought in New Orleans, people would either say 'Groogroo' or 'Groogrux,' depending on the street they live on. It's dedicated to LeRoi and New Orleans. He loved New Orleans."
There is a vaguely New Orleans flavour to the album, from the Matthews-drawn cover art of a Mardi Gras-style parade (featuring a banner of Moore's face) to the festive-yet-existential songs therein.
"I feel really good about it," he said of the album. "I'm confident my old friend LeRoi would have felt the same way I do. He would have thought it's our best record so far. His presence on the album is very musical, but he was certainly a great inspiration to us after he was gone. The important things he said became more important, and the unimportant things turn to dust."
Matthews and his band rock harder on the new release. Opener Shake Me Like a Monkey rides a charged, bluesy groove lifted by funky horns. Next, on Funny the Way It Is, which moves with similar urgency, he reflects on the state of the world.
He gets philosophical on ballads Dive In - "Tell me everything is all taken care of / By those qualified to take care of it all" - and Time Bomb, which gives way to a raging climax.
All in all, it's a characteristically action-packed Dave Matthews Band album, marked by greater unity and a stronger sense of purpose.
"I just think it's clearer," he said, "that the performances are really strong, the music is as heavy as we've been, and the depth of the music and of the emotion in it is the deepest we've gone. If I just listen to it, I don't have any questions about it. I don't have to explain or justify anything about it.
"If someone listens to this music and doesn't get anything from it, either they're not listening or they're not well brought up."
He's joking, of course. But behind his humour lies the passionate engagement of an artist who has thrown himself fully into his latest work as he tries to express something larger than life.
The point of entry, as always, is the music. The ever-evolving arrangements veer from one genre to the next, often within the same song, in a way that has earned Matthews and his mates the nagging "jam band" tag.
"I love the musical turns," he said, in his own defence. "I love to surprise myself with how, in the same way math can be surprising or language can be surprising with a turn of phrase, there is such a freedom in music.
"It's unlike a lot of things. It's strange the way it sneaks in the back door of our hearts. It doesn't require us to decipher, in an active way, things we see and do. Our ears are very open. So when we're lucky enough to find those turns inside music, it's very thrilling for me, and the listener. It changes the way the world feels."
Helping focus the band's diverse interests on the album was producer Rob Cavallo, known for his work with Green Day and My Chemical Romance. Cavallo beefed up the band's sound, but he also brought something more ephemeral to the table.
"He has this innocence and eagerness," Matthews said, "and a love of music that is so genuine. It's really quite infectious. ... He brought that eagerness, a belief in us; and very fortunately, we were in a good space to be able to hear it."
